Abstract (English):

With its widely differing climatic, geographic and geologic zones, Turkey enjoys a rich and diverse flora. Having been a host to many cultures, Anatolia has acumulated a vast ethnobotanical heritage and the efforts to define and preserve these cultural values has led to an increasing number of research on the subject. The Eastern Anatolian region spans across 14 provinces and is the largest and one of the richest areas in terms of biodiversity. The purpose of this study is to provide a meta analysis of ethnobotanical research conducted in this region. The information presented is collected from 132 articles and 15 thesis that has focused on this topic. Majority of the articles have focused on Elazığ, Van and Erzurum provinces while the Kars and Muş provinces are represented in two articles each. The remainder of the provinces have one or zero published articles or papers on their ethnobotanical heritage. Medicinal plants, edible plants and dyes are the main focus of research, while research on fodder, ethnozoological treatment, hand crafts and biomass for heating is found to be scarce.